I policed King's x St Pancras West from York way to the park in the 90s. Chameleon of a place. It changed constantly in character as the clock ticked on each day. My favourite time was between 3am and 5am when the mix of people was amazing. I met some incredible and awful people. Some scarred by abuse addiction and a host of other afflictions. Some just plain cold cruel vicious and vile. Some quiet humble and gentle. Some did the dirty job the rich never see or even know exist. Some broken or destitute or vulnerable and open to predators. It was quite humbling.
As a retired British Rail Manager and frequent user of both Kings Cross and St. Pancras stations, I find this post absolutely fascinating. Thanks, Matt.
Very strange thought coincidence this time. I’ve been writing recently about Somers Town - a story which also includes the River Fleet, Pancras Road and that very same image!
It’s also the station complex I know best from my last visit to London shortly after the pandemic! I even booked a nearby hotel because of the convenience for transportation (not the railway hotel!).
What a fabulous article. I walk past that hotel a few times a year and each time it reminds me that this was my first experience of London aged 8. Having caught the sleeper train down from Scotland with my parents to visit London, we had breakfast in The Great Northern Hotel followed by three wonderful days in London. 15 years later I moved to London and other than a 7 year stay in the country along the way I’ve lived here ever since. Like the curve of that vanished Fleet river, that hotel carries for me the memory of my father, who died a few years ago, but who was always seemed as at home when visiting in London as on his farm in Scotland. Thanks Matt, with our without the milkshake…
This was well worth a re-post, so interesting! My daughter was doing a ‘compare two sources’ history exercise and we were talking about different levels of historical explanation. This is a perfect example! For over a decade I worked across from there at Camden Town Hall and loved watching that area transform, but also hearing local stories of how it was before.
Thanks for posting, Matt. I use St Pancras and King's Cross a lot, and I have a real devotion to this part of London with all its rich history. My great-grandparents were married at St Pancras Church, and I spent my late teens to early twenties at Bagley's—so many epic memories that I even named my dog Bagley! I love how the area has been regenerated, with a spirit much like the approach in Highbury, which I wrote about recently. I’m in absolute awe every time I see the Great Northern Hotel. I haven’t had the chance to stay there yet, but I’ve met people there and visited the cocktail bar a few times. Recently, I took my kids to St Pancras Churchyard because my daughter wanted to see where Mary Shelley is buried. It really highlights the UK's forgotten history and beautifully blends it with the modern landscape.
It’s also great to read about the ergonomics of design in regenerating areas—seeing how thoughtful design can honor the past while creating spaces that feel vibrant and usable today.
Thanks Luke! Bagley is a fantastic name choice. And certainly better than calling the dog “Coal Drops” or “Gasholder Number 8”. I’m fascinated by the area too. I worked on York Way in the Noughties while living in Camden, so my daily commute was a walk along the canal.
Brilliant and of course the infamous regents canal, if the walls could talk down there. I have only recently realised what a nice stroll that is as I often have a jaunt into Camden for a pint and a mooch about
Marvelous connection -- thank you! My favorite London logic circle connects Robin Hood to the House of Commons: Robin Hood robbed the rich to feed the poor during the reign of Richard the Lion Hearted, brother to Prince John who succeeded him as king. King John was forced by the Barons to sign the Magna Carta, which he then ignored, as did his son Henry III. Henry III was renovating Westminster Abbey into the gothic cathedral we know today and needed more money, so he attacked the Knights Templar Abbey in Clerkenwell and seized their treasure. But it wasn't the monks' -- it belonged to the merchants of London who had given it as collateral for loans -- so the merchants joined forces with the Barons and defeated (but didn't kill) King Henry at the Battle of Lewes in the Barons War. For a year, England was ruled by Earl Simon de Montfort, and he invited the merchants of London to join the barons to "parler," as the French Normans said, or to "talk" at Parliament. This was the first meeting of the House of Commons. And now, depending on your politics, one could say that the House of Commons "robs the rich to feed the poor," and we're back to Robin Hood!
It could probably do with another step in there, but the hills the Fleet drains from and especially the shape of the Thames valley would, I think, be partly crafted by glacial waters. (Though happy to be corrected- geology is not my strong suit.)
I think on reflection I have to debunk the theories of Mr Rolfe, my teenage geography teacher, but he insisted that the sudden isolated high ground of Harrow, Hampstead, Highgate and Muswell Hill were all glacial moraines
I policed King's x St Pancras West from York way to the park in the 90s. Chameleon of a place. It changed constantly in character as the clock ticked on each day. My favourite time was between 3am and 5am when the mix of people was amazing. I met some incredible and awful people. Some scarred by abuse addiction and a host of other afflictions. Some just plain cold cruel vicious and vile. Some quiet humble and gentle. Some did the dirty job the rich never see or even know exist. Some broken or destitute or vulnerable and open to predators. It was quite humbling.
As a retired British Rail Manager and frequent user of both Kings Cross and St. Pancras stations, I find this post absolutely fascinating. Thanks, Matt.
Beautiful! I knew I liked that hotel's shape, now I know why.
Absolutely fascinating!! 🔥😀
Very strange thought coincidence this time. I’ve been writing recently about Somers Town - a story which also includes the River Fleet, Pancras Road and that very same image!
It’s also the station complex I know best from my last visit to London shortly after the pandemic! I even booked a nearby hotel because of the convenience for transportation (not the railway hotel!).
What a fabulous article. I walk past that hotel a few times a year and each time it reminds me that this was my first experience of London aged 8. Having caught the sleeper train down from Scotland with my parents to visit London, we had breakfast in The Great Northern Hotel followed by three wonderful days in London. 15 years later I moved to London and other than a 7 year stay in the country along the way I’ve lived here ever since. Like the curve of that vanished Fleet river, that hotel carries for me the memory of my father, who died a few years ago, but who was always seemed as at home when visiting in London as on his farm in Scotland. Thanks Matt, with our without the milkshake…
This was well worth a re-post, so interesting! My daughter was doing a ‘compare two sources’ history exercise and we were talking about different levels of historical explanation. This is a perfect example! For over a decade I worked across from there at Camden Town Hall and loved watching that area transform, but also hearing local stories of how it was before.
Late Christopher fowler wrote some amazing novels centred around Camden and the x.
Indeed... I was lucky enough to share a few pints with him over the years. Sadly missed.
Wow.. just reread load of his PCU books. Love them. Reminds me of dark nights and dark souls.
Thanks for posting, Matt. I use St Pancras and King's Cross a lot, and I have a real devotion to this part of London with all its rich history. My great-grandparents were married at St Pancras Church, and I spent my late teens to early twenties at Bagley's—so many epic memories that I even named my dog Bagley! I love how the area has been regenerated, with a spirit much like the approach in Highbury, which I wrote about recently. I’m in absolute awe every time I see the Great Northern Hotel. I haven’t had the chance to stay there yet, but I’ve met people there and visited the cocktail bar a few times. Recently, I took my kids to St Pancras Churchyard because my daughter wanted to see where Mary Shelley is buried. It really highlights the UK's forgotten history and beautifully blends it with the modern landscape.
It’s also great to read about the ergonomics of design in regenerating areas—seeing how thoughtful design can honor the past while creating spaces that feel vibrant and usable today.
Thanks Luke! Bagley is a fantastic name choice. And certainly better than calling the dog “Coal Drops” or “Gasholder Number 8”. I’m fascinated by the area too. I worked on York Way in the Noughties while living in Camden, so my daily commute was a walk along the canal.
Brilliant and of course the infamous regents canal, if the walls could talk down there. I have only recently realised what a nice stroll that is as I often have a jaunt into Camden for a pint and a mooch about
Marvelous connection -- thank you! My favorite London logic circle connects Robin Hood to the House of Commons: Robin Hood robbed the rich to feed the poor during the reign of Richard the Lion Hearted, brother to Prince John who succeeded him as king. King John was forced by the Barons to sign the Magna Carta, which he then ignored, as did his son Henry III. Henry III was renovating Westminster Abbey into the gothic cathedral we know today and needed more money, so he attacked the Knights Templar Abbey in Clerkenwell and seized their treasure. But it wasn't the monks' -- it belonged to the merchants of London who had given it as collateral for loans -- so the merchants joined forces with the Barons and defeated (but didn't kill) King Henry at the Battle of Lewes in the Barons War. For a year, England was ruled by Earl Simon de Montfort, and he invited the merchants of London to join the barons to "parler," as the French Normans said, or to "talk" at Parliament. This was the first meeting of the House of Commons. And now, depending on your politics, one could say that the House of Commons "robs the rich to feed the poor," and we're back to Robin Hood!
I like this except... the last bit. The glaciers did not extend as far south as London. The river probably just meandered.
It could probably do with another step in there, but the hills the Fleet drains from and especially the shape of the Thames valley would, I think, be partly crafted by glacial waters. (Though happy to be corrected- geology is not my strong suit.)
I think on reflection I have to debunk the theories of Mr Rolfe, my teenage geography teacher, but he insisted that the sudden isolated high ground of Harrow, Hampstead, Highgate and Muswell Hill were all glacial moraines
Sorry to burst your bubble. They are far too high/large for moraine. Indeed, Harrow had flint mines in it, so solid anyway.
I wouldn't trust a geography teacher till they were at least in their 20s, but yes, as I've heard it, the Ice Age stopped at Finchley.